Universal kitchen appliance

ABSTRACT

A kitchen appliance for processing food by chopping, mixing, whipping, kneading, pressing, and preparing emulsions from food has a horizontally positioned cylindrical vessel for receiving food. A tool for processing food in the vessel has a diameter that matches the inner diameter of the vessel. A drive motor is connected with a drive shaft to the tool for driving the tool in rotation. An advancing unit is provided for advancing the tool in the axial direction of the vessel over its axial length. The advancing unit has a stationary spindle and a slide connected to the spindle so as to be slidable on the spindle in the axial direction of the vessel, wherein the slide is displaced by an electric motor on the spindle in the axial direction. The drive motor of the tool is connected to the slide to allow for axially advancing the tool within the vessel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a kitchen appliance for processing food bychopping, mixing, stirring, kneading, pressing etc. or for producingemulsions of food with a processing tool driven by a motor and having arespective working chamber.

A kitchen appliance of the aforementioned kind is known as aconventional food processor. Such food processors have commonly adaptersfor respective tools which are inserted for a working process into aworking chamber of a separate vessel. As a universal tool for thecommonly performed processing operations for food a two-blade knife isused that is rotated at high speeds.

The food processors of the aforementioned kind have a couple ofdisadvantages. For example, with the known food processors a uniformsize reduction of food can only be achieved to a certain extent becausethe reduction tools are rotated stationarily about an axle and operateonly in one cutting plane. Accordingly, the food to be cut which isdirectly adjacent to the knife is reduced in size to a much greaterextent than the food to be cut which is conveyed to the cutting tool bymixing. The desired mixing in known food processors is based on frictionand centrifugal forces which due to the fast rotating cutting tool aregenerated within the food to be cut. The tackiness and smearingespecially of fat-containing foods or oily substances resulting from thefrictional heat prevent a sufficient mixing and thus a uniform sizereduction. A further disadvantage is that the known food processors canperform only one processing step whereby in addition the amount of foodto be processed is relatively small. Furthermore, with conventional foodprocessors an emulsion can be produced only to a limited extent, andalso the cleaning of such food processors is cumbersome andtime-consuming.

It is an object of the invention to provide a kitchen appliance whichwith a simple attachment of its different tools allows for differentprocessing operations with varying processing requirements for the food.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The kitchen appliance for processing food by chopping, mixing, whipping,kneading, pressing, and preparing emulsions from food according to thepresent invention is primarily characterized by:

a container for receiving food and being in the form of a horizontallypositioned cylindrical vessel;

a tool for processing food in the vessel and having a diameter thatmatches an inner diameter of the vessel;

a drive motor for driving the tool in rotation;

a drive shaft connecting the tool and the drive motor;

an advancing unit for advancing the tool in an axial direction of thevessel over an axial length of the vessel, the advancing unit comprisinga stationary spindle and a slide connected to the spindle so as to beslidable on the spindle in the axial direction of the vessel, theadvancing unit further comprising an electric motor for axiallydisplacing the slide on the spindle; and

wherein the drive motor of the tool is connected to the slide.

Advantageously, the vessel has a rear wall with a throughbore throughwhich the drive shaft extends. The throughbore has a seal for sealingthe drive shaft within the throughbore. The tool is connected to a freeend of a portion of the drive shaft extending into the interior of thevessel.

Preferably, a plurality of the tools that are arranged adjacent to oneanother on the portion of the drive shaft extending into the exterior ofthe vessel are provided.

The vessel has a forward wall in the form of a discharge funnel. Theforward wall has an inner fitting for receiving a processing disk.

The processing disk may be a closure plate or a perforated disk. Theprocessing disk may have at least one opening for shaping the food.

The forward wall may also have a discharge screw.

Preferably, the vessel has a cylindrical wall, with an upper portion ofthe cylindrical wall being a pivotable closure extending over the axiallength of the vessel. The closure has a lock and a seal for tightlysealing the closure of the cylindrical wall.

Expediently, the cylindrical wall of the vessel has a cooling deviceconnected thereto.

The tool may be a knife having a plurality of knife blades that arestaggered in an axial direction of the drive shaft in different cuttingplanes.

In an another embodiment of the present invention, the tool is a paddleblade mixer with two oppositely arranged paddle blades.

The tool may also be an emulsion mixer comprising a central disk and awire spiral connected to a periphery of the central disk.

The tool may also be a pressure disk having an annular seal connected toa periphery thereof.

In another embodiment, the tool is cutting tool in the form of a wirescreen.

The tool may also be a cleaning tool having two oppositely arrangedblades, wherein the blades have rubber lamellas on a front side and abackside thereof as well as on free ends thereof.

Expediently, the kitchen appliance further has a housing for enclosingthe vessel, the drive motor, and the advancing unit.

The inventive kitchen appliance is based on the principle that theworking chamber of the appliance is in the form of a tubular vesselwhich is horizontally arranged and that the tool during the processingoperation is guided in rotation over the length of the vessel with anadvancing unit along a drive shaft in the longitudinal direction of thevessel and corresponds with its diameter to the corresponding innerdimension of the vessel.

The present invention has the advantage that with a universal kitchenappliance different processing operations can be performed. In anadvantageous manner it is also possible to perform a plurality ofprocessing operations in sequence because a simple exchange ofprocessing tools is possible despite the fact that the machine is filledwhen interrupting a processing operation. With a correspondingadaptation of the tool it is possible to take into considerationdifferent requirements for processing food whereby especially thepreparation of ingredients for producing bread and sausages as well asfor producing the aforementioned foods is simplified. As a specialadvantage of the inventive kitchen appliance an easy cleaning operationis to be mentioned because a complete cleaning of the kitchen applianceis possible by filling a cleaning emulsion into the vessel andperforming a processing step with the kitchen appliance with the usedtools as well as a special cleaning tool. Due to this measure, even whenprocessing different basic substances one after another, no complicateddismantling, cleaning, and reassembling of the kitchen appliance isrequired.

It is especially advantageous that with the kitchen appliance anindividual processing operation is adjustable. It is possible to varythe degree of chopping, grinding, or mixing. For example, in theproduction of jam or ice cream, the size of the fruit pieces can beadjusted and for the manufacture of fruit juices the ratio of fruitparticles within the juice can be determined by adjusting the sizereduction of the fruit to a finer or courser setting. This isadvantageously possible by the tool passing through the vessel in arotating manner so that the substance within the vessel is exposed onlyto a predetermined processing effect of the tool because due to theadvancement of the tool an extended exposure of the substance within thevessel in an already processed zone of the vessel is prevented.

According to an embodiment of the invention for the realization of thedrive of the tool the rear wall of the vessel is provided with athroughbore for the drive shaft, the throughbore being sealed by a sealwhereby the tool is fixedly connectable to the tip of the shaft. It isalso possible to connect sequentially a plurality of tools to the shaftwhereby especially in combination with a cleaning tool the workingsuccess of the kitchen appliance is improved in all aspects.

For effecting the desired advancement of the tool, the drive motor forthe shaft that carries the tool is connected to a slide that is slidablein the longitudinal direction of the vessel along a spindle with acorresponding electric motor so that the shaft including drive motor isdisplaced in the longitudinal direction of the vessel and thus realizesthe required advancement of the tool connected to the drive shaft.

In an expedient embodiment of the invention the forward wall of thevessel is in the form of a discharge funnel which is advantageous forcertain applications of the kitchen appliance. The inner side of theforward wall is provided with a fitting for receiving processing disks,which, for example, are in the form of a closure disk, a perforateddisk, or a disk with at least one opening for shaping the food in orderto adapt the kitchen appliance to different requirements of processingsteps. Expediently, the forward wall may be provided with a dischargescrew in order to discharge cleaning liquid or other liquid residueswithin the vessel.

In order to ensure the accessibility of the vessel as a working chamber,according to one embodiment of the invention the cylindrical wall of thevessel is provided with a pivotable closure extending at its upperportion over its length. The closure is closable with a seal and a lockin a tight manner.

According to a special embodiment of the invention, especially in viewof producing ice cream, the cylindrical wall of the vessel is providedwith a cooling device.

Other embodiments of the invention are concerned especially with thedesign and construction of tools connectable to the drive shaft. Forexample, the tool may be in the form of a cutting knife with a pluralityof cutting blades, wherein the cutting blades are staggered in thelongitudinal direction of the vessel in different cutting planes.

The tool may also be in the form of a paddle blade mixer in which twopaddle blades are oppositely arranged and have a paddle blade edge withan angle of, for example, approximately 20°.

The tool may also be in the form of an emulsion mixer with a centralaluminum disk and an outer wire spiral surrounding it whereby the totaldiameter of the emulsion mixture corresponds to the inner dimension ofthe vessel.

The tool may preferably be an aluminum disk which functions as apressure disk and has inserted into its periphery an annular seal.

The tool may also be a cheese grater which is comprised of an aluminumring which has connected thereto a wire screen consisting of V2A wirehaving a distance between wires of at least 4 mm.

The tool may also be in the form of a cleaning device which has twooppositely arranged blades that at their free ends as well as on theirfront side and their backside have rubber lamellas.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings embodiments of the invention are shown which will bedescribed in the following. It is shown in:

FIG. 1 a kitchen appliance in a side view;

FIG. 2 a vessel of the kitchen appliance in an enlarged representation;

FIG. 3 the object of FIG. 4 with tool and drive;

FIG. 4 the advancing unit of the tool;

FIG. 5 the rear wall of the vessel in an enlarged representation;

FIG. 6 the forward wall of the vessel in an enlarged representation;

FIG. 7 a portion of the cylindrical wall of the vessel;

FIGS. 8a, 8b a tool in the form of a cutting knife;

FIG. 9 a tool in the form of an emulsion mixer;

FIG. 10 a tool in the form of a cheese grater;

FIG. 11 a tool in the form of a cleaning device.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In a common housing 10 a horizontally arranged cylindrical vessel 11with a drive unit 12 for the tool movable within the vessel and with anadvancing unit 13 is arranged. The housing 10 has an operator panel 14with functional selection as well as monitoring units, furthermoreelectric connectors 15, wherein for supplementing the operation a footswitch 16 is provided.

The vessel 11, which is shown in detail in FIG. 2, has a rear wall 17and a forward wall 18 which has a transition into a discharge funnel 19.At the upper portion of the vessel 11 the cylindrical wall has a closure20 which can be upwardly pivoted and provides for a good access to theinterior of the vessel 11 that is to be used as the working chamber. Aseal 21 extends about the periphery and provides for a sealing of theworking chamber when the closure 20 is closed. With a lock 22 (FIG. 3)the vessel 11 is closable.

The operation of the kitchen appliance will be explained in detail withthe aid of FIGS. 3 and 4. Along the longitudinal axis of the vessel 11 ashaft 23 is arranged having at its forward end a tool 24 which isrotated with the shaft 23. The shaft 23 is connected with its rearwardend extending from the vessel 11 to an electric motor 25 which ispreferably continuously adjustable. For generating the requiredadvancing movement of the tool 24 the drive motor 25 is connected to aslide 26 which is slidable along a stationary spindle connected with thevessel 11. The rotation of the spindle 27 is effected with an electricmotor 28 positioned below the spindle. Slide 26 with spindle 27 andelectric motor 28 form the advancing unit 13.

From FIGS. 5 and 6 the details with respect to the design of the vesselcan be taken. From FIG. 5 it can be taken that the rearward wall 17 hasa throughbore 29 with a seal 30 for the shaft 23. As can be seen in FIG.6, the forward wall 18 with the connected funnel 19 is provided at theinner side of the vessel 11 with a fitting for processing disks which,according to the shown embodiment, can be a closure plate 31,respectively, a perforated disk 32. At the forward wall 18 a dischargescrew 33 is also arranged.

From FIG. 7 an embodiment of the vessel 11 can be taken in which thestationary cylindrical wall of the vessel 11 is provided with coolingcoils 34 which with a respective insulation of the cylindrical wallallow for the production of ice cream within the vessel 11. In FIGS. 8to 11 tools are represented which are especially designed for theinventive kitchen appliance. FIGS. 8a and b show a cutting knife 35 withthree knife blades 36 which are staggered in the longitudinal directionof the vessel 11, respectively, in the direction of the shaft 23 indifferent cutting planes. Together with the axial advancement of theknife through the vessel 11 this results in an especially favorable sizereduction effect.

FIG. 9 shows an emulsion mixer which is comprised of a central disk 38which is surrounded by a wire spiral 39. It is understood that the totaldiameter of the disk 38 with wire spiral 39 corresponds to the innerdimension of the vessel 11. With such a tool emulsions may be producedin a favorable manner because the central disk 38 exerts a pressure ontothe supply of food within the vessel 11 whereby a fine size reductionand mixing occurs at the outer periphery with the wire spiral 39.

FIG. 10 shows the embodiment of a tool as a so-called cheese grater 40which is comprised substantially of a wire screen and is movable withoutrotation by the advancing unit through the vessel 11.

FIG. 11 shows an advantageous cleaning device 41 which is comprised oftwo oppositely arranged blades. The blades are provided at their ends aswell as at their front side and backside with rubber lamellas.

Furthermore, other shapes of tools are usable such as, for example, apaddle blade mixer with two oppositely arranged paddle blades havingblade edges that are positioned at an angle of, for example, 20°. It isalso possible to use an aluminum disk functioning as a pressure diskhaving an O-ring seal inserted at its outer circumference whereby theentire diameter of the pressure disk corresponds to the inner dimensionof the vessel 11. Such a tool is advanced without rotation only with theadvancing unit 13 within the interior of the vessel 11 whereby thepressed substance is discharged especially via the discharge funnel 19.

Finally, a few especially advantageous applications for the inventivekitchen appliance are to be named:

1. Emulsifying sausage stuffing for cooked sausages or bratwurst,mayonnaise, ketchup, or emulsions of vegetable material, whereby proteincells or fat cells must be destroyed and whereby constant temperatureand a high comminution ability is needed because the cells must bedestroyed in order to provide a binding with water.

2. Chopping meat because a uniform dicing can be achieved withoutportions being squashed or producing mush.

3. Grinding because a size reduction is ensured without producing toohigh a meal component.

4. Mixing because a uniform mixing is ensured which is also possible fordifferent consistencies of the materials to be mixed.

5. Stirring because different compositions can be uniformly mixed.

6. Kneading because even substances that are difficult to be mixed canbe kneaded to a uniform mass.

7. Shaping because by advancing the tool without rotation the requiredpressure can be exerted in order to press the dough through the shapingopening provided especially in a disk that is inserted into the forwardwall.

8. Pressing whereby the required pressure is adjustable via theadvancing unit of the tool and the liquid pressed out of the substanceis dischargeable via the discharge funnel.

9. Filling, since the discharge funnel provided at the forward wallallows for a filling of the product directly into suitable containerswithout a previous refilling step.

10. Cleaning because the kitchen appliance does not require disassemblyand cleaning of individual components, but is ready for the nextprocessing step after a cleaning operation.

The features of the inventive object of this application disclosed inthe above description, the claims, the abstract, and the drawing, may beimportant individually as well as in any desired combination for therealization of the invention in its various embodiments.

The present invention is, of course, in no way restricted to thespecific disclosure of the specification and drawings, but alsoencompasses any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:
 1. A kitchen appliance for processing food by chopping,mixing, whipping, kneading, pressing, and preparing emulsions from food,said appliance comprising:a container for receiving food, said containerbeing in the form of a cylindrical horizontally positioned vessel; atool for processing food in said vessel, said tool having a diameterthat matches an inner diameter of said vessel; a drive motor for drivingsaid tool in rotation; a drive shaft connecting said tool and said drivemotor; an advancing unit for advancing said tool in an axial directionof said vessel over an axial length of said vessel, said advancing unitcomprising a stationary spindle and a slide connected to said spindle soas to be slidable on said spindle in said axial direction of saidvessel, said advancing unit further comprising an electric motor fordisplacing said slide on said spindle in said axial direction; whereinsaid drive motor of said tool is connected to said slide; and whereinsaid vessel has a forward wall in the form of a discharge funnel.
 2. Akitchen appliance according to claim 1, wherein said vessel has a rearwall with a throughbore through which through bore said drive shaftextends, said throughbore having a seal for sealing said drive shaftwithin said throughbore, with said tool connected to a free end of aportion of said drive shaft extending into an interior of said vessel.3. A kitchen appliance according to claim 2, further comprising aplurality of said tools, said tools arranged adjacent to one another onsaid portion of said drive shaft extending into said exterior of saidvessel.
 4. A kitchen appliance according to claim 1, wherein saidforward wall has an inner fitting for receiving a processing disk.
 5. Akitchen appliance according to claim 4, wherein said processing disk isa closure plate.
 6. A kitchen appliance according to claim 4, whereinsaid processing disk is a perforated disk.
 7. A kitchen applianceaccording to claim 4, wherein said processing disk has at least oneopening for shaping the food.
 8. A kitchen appliance according to claim1, wherein said forward wall has a discharge screw.
 9. A kitchenappliance according to claim 1, wherein said tool is selected from thegroup consisting of a knife having a plurality of blades, said bladesbeing staggered in an axial direction of said drive shaft so as toprovide different cutting planes; a paddle blade mixer with twooppositely arranged paddle blades; an emulsion mixer comprising acentral disk and a wire spiral connected to a periphery of said centraldisk; a pressure disk having an annular seal connected to a periphery ofsaid pressure disk; a cutting tool in the form of a wire screen; and acleaning tool having two oppositely arranged blades, said blades havingrubber lamellas on a front side and a backside thereof as well as onfree ends thereof.
 10. A kitchen appliance according to claim 1, furthercomprising a housing for enclosing said vessel, said drive motor, andsaid advancing unit.
 11. A kitchen appliance according to claim 1,wherein said vessel has a cylindrical wall, with an upper portion ofsaid cylindrical wall being a pivotable closure extending over saidaxial length of said vessel, said closure having a lock and a seal fortightly sealing said closure of said cylindrical wall.
 12. A kitchenappliance according to claim 1, further comprising a cooling deviceconnected to a cylindrical wall of said vessel.
 13. A kitchen appliancefor processing food by chopping, mixing, whipping, kneading, pressing,and preparing emulsions from food, said appliance comprising:a containerfor receiving food, said container being in the form of a cylindricalhorizontally positioned vessel; a tool for processing food in saidvessel, said tool having a diameter that matches an inner diameter ofsaid vessel; a drive motor for driving said tool in rotation; a driveshaft connecting said tool and said drive motor; an advancing unit foradvancing said tool in an axial direction of said vessel over an axiallength of said vessel, said advancing unit comprising a stationaryspindle and a slide connected to said spindle so as to be slidable onsaid spindle in said axial direction of said vessel, said advancing unitfurther comprising an electric motor for displacing said slide on saidspindle in said axial direction; wherein said drive motor of said toolis connected to said slide; and wherein said vessel has a cylindricalwall, with an upper portion of said cylindrical wall being a pivotableclosure extending over said axial length of said vessel, said closurehaving a lock and a seal for tightly sealing said closure of saidcylindrical wall.
 14. A kitchen appliance according to claim 13, whereinsaid vessel has a rear wall with a throughbore through which throughbore said drive shaft extends, said throughbore having a seal forsealing said drive shaft within said throughbore, with said toolconnected to a free end of a portion of said drive shaft extending intoan interior of said vessel.
 15. A kitchen appliance according to claim14, further comprising a plurality of said tools, said tools arrangedadjacent to one another on said portion of said drive shaft extendinginto said exterior of said vessel.
 16. A kitchen appliance according toclaim 13, further comprising a cooling device connected to a cylindricalwall of said vessel.
 17. A kitchen appliance according to claim 13,wherein said tool is selected from the groups consisting of: a knifehaving a plurality of blades, said blades being staggered in an axialdirection of said drive shaft so as to provide different cutting planes;a paddle blade mixer with two oppositely arranged paddle blades; anemulsion mixer comprising a central disk and a wire spiral connected toa periphery of said central disk; a pressure disk having an annular sealconnected to a periphery of said pressure disk; a cutting tool in theform of a wire screen; and a cleaning tool having two oppositelyarranged blades, said blades having rubber lamellas on a front side anda backside thereof as well as on free ends thereof.
 18. A kitchenappliance according to claim 13, further comprising a housing forenclosing said vessel, said drive motor, and said advancing unit.
 19. Akitchen appliance for processing food by chopping, mixing, whipping,kneading, pressing, and preparing emulsions from food, said appliancecomprising:a container for receiving food, said container being in theform of a cylindrical horizontally positioned vessel; a tool forprocessing food in said vessel, said tool having a diameter that matchesan inner diameter of said vessel; a drive motor for driving said tool inrotation; a drive shaft connecting said tool and said drive motor; anadvancing unit for advancing said tool in an axial direction of saidvessel over an axial length of said vessel, said advancing unitcomprising a stationary spindle and a slide connected to said spindle soas to be slidable on said spindle in said axial direction of saidvessel, said advancing unit further comprising an electric motor fordisplacing said slide on said spindle in said axial direction; whereinsaid drive motor of said tool is connected to said slide; and furthercomprising a cooling device connected to a cylindrical wall of saidvessel.
 20. A kitchen appliance according to claim 19, wherein saidvessel has a rear wall with a throughbore through which through boresaid drive shaft extends, said throughbore having a seal for sealingsaid drive shaft within said throughbore, with said tool connected to afree end of a portion of said drive shaft extending into an interior ofsaid vessel.
 21. A kitchen appliance according to claim 20, furthercomprising a plurality of said tools, said tools arranged adjacent toone another on said portion of said drive shaft extending into saidexterior of said vessel.
 22. A kitchen appliance according to claim 19,wherein said tool is selected from the groups consisting of: a knifehaving a plurality of blades, said blades being staggered in an axialdirection of said drive shaft so as to provide different cutting planes;a paddle blade mixer with two oppositely arranged paddle blades; anemulsion mixer comprising a central disk and a wire spiral connected toa periphery of said central disk; a pressure disk having an annular sealconnected to a periphery of said pressure disk; a cutting tool in theform of a wire screen; and a cleaning tool having two oppositelyarranged blades, said blades having rubber lamellas on a front side anda backside thereof as well as on free ends thereof.
 23. A kitchenappliance according to claim 19, further comprising a housing forenclosing said vessel, said drive motor, and said advancing unit.